Wire-stretcher.



No. 682,993. Patented Sept. 17, l90l. W. MAHER.

WIRE STRETCHER.

(Application filed June 22, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 682,993. Patented Sept. I7, I901. W. MAHER.

WIRE. STRETCHER.

(Application filed June 22, 1901.] (No Model.)

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- UNlTED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

WILLIAM MAHER, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

I WIRE-ISTRETCHIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 682,993, datedSeptember 17, 1901. Application filed June 22, 1901. Serial No. 65,623.'(No model.)

To all whom it 71mg concern.-

Be it known that LWILLIAM MAHER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State ofColorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWire-Stretchers; and I do declare the following to be a f 'ull,clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying draw ings, and to the figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in wire-stretohers for use in theconstruction of wire fence or wherever a device of this kind may beneeded, my object being to provide a device of this class which shall besimple in construction, economical in cost, reliable, durable, andthoroughly practicable in operation; and to this end the inventionconsists of the features, arrangements, and combinations hereinafterdescribed and claimed, all of which will be fully understood byreference to the accompanying drawings, in which is illustrated anembodiment thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top or plan view of my improvedwire-stretching device. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, one ofthe cranks being removed to facilitate clear ness of illustration. Fig.3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through one member of thedevice, the other member being shown in side elevation. The cranks arenot illustrated in this view. Fig. 4. is a side elevation of the devicein use, the parts being shown on a smaller scale. Figs. 5 and 6 aresections taken on the lines y y and to or, respectively, of Fig. 3.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numerals 5 and 6 designate the chief elements of my device. Themember 5 may be called a carriage, since it is arranged to travel on therack-bar 6, the latter being slidably mounted in the carriage. The bodyof the carriage is provided with an opening in its lower portion 5,through which the rack-bar passes, the latter being further supported bya depending metal strap 5,attached to one end of the carriage. Journaled in the end of the carriage remote from the strap 5 is ashaft orspindle 8, to which is made fast a gear or pinion 9, arranged to meshwith the teeth or cogs of the rack-bar 6. The extremity of the carriageis recessed or cut out to receive the pinion. To each extremity of thisspindle is made fast a hand-crank 10 for operating the pinion either tocause the rackbar to move through the parts 5 and 5 of the carriage orto cause the carriage to travel on the rack-bar, as may be required.

Pivotally mounted on the carriage by means of a spindle 11 is a dog 12,adapted to engage the pinion and lock the latter against rotation in onedirection, but permitting the pin ion to turn freely in the oppositedirection. The dog is normally held in engagement with the pinion by aspring 13, mounted on the carriage and engaging the dog from below andon the side of the pivot 11 remote from the pinion. Astirrup-shapedkeeper 14E, movably mounted on the carriage, is adapted to engage theextremity of the dog adjacent the spring and hold it in the dotted-lineposition, (see Fig. 3,) whereby its opposite extremity, or that remotefrom the keeper, is disengaged from the pinion. In this case the pinionmay be freely turned in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figs. 2and 3.

The carriage is provided with a hook 15 at the extremity remote from thepinion, the said hook being preferably formed integral with thecarriage. When the device is in use, a chain 16 (see Fig. 4) may beconnected with this hook and passed around a post or other suitablestationary support to support the device in position for wire-stretchingpurposes. Upon the lower part of the carriage is pivotally mounted aneccentric cam 17,

having a toothed or roughened face 17.

Above the face of this cam a ledge 5 is formed on the carriage tocotiperate with the cam to lock the wire in place. A similar locking-cam18 is pivoted on the upper part of the carriage and on the opposite sidefrom the cam 17. A ledge 5 on the carriage co- In the use of the devicethe chain 16, connected with the hook 15 of the carriage, as aforesaid,is passed around or connected with a post 25 or other suitablestationary support. (See Fig. 4.) The locking-cam 19 of the rackbar 6 isthen tightened on the extremity of the wire 26 to be stretched. At thebeginning of the operation the rackbar 6 should be moved to its extremeleft-hand position, referring to Fig. 4, in order to utilize the fullcapacity of the device during the wire-stretching operation. The cranks10 are then turned, causing the pinion 9 to rotate in the directionindicated by the arrow in Fig. 4, whereby the rack-bar is moved towardthe post and the wire 26 stretched or drawn a distance equal to thetravel of the bar. After the bar is moved toward the left as far aspossible the cam 17 of the carriage is tightened on the wire and the cam19 released. The cranks 10 are then turned in the opposite direction,causing the bar 6 to travel toward the right, after which the cam 19 isagain tightened on the wire and the cam 17 released. The operationheretofore described is then repeated until the wire is sufiicientlytight.

The chain 16 may, if desired, be attached to the hook 20 of therack-bar, in which case the wire 26 would be held by the cam 17 and thecarriage would travel on the rack during the wire-stretching operation.After the carriage travels to its limit of movement the wire is grippedand held by the cam 19 until the carriage is run back to get a new hold,after which the cam 17 on the carriage is tightened on the wire and thecam 19 released. The operation is then repeated.

The two locking-cams 17 and 18 on the carriage may be utilized forstretching two wires at the same time or the two cams may be usedseparately, as may be desired.

During the reverse movement of the carriage or while the rack-bar isgiven a reverse movement to get a new hold of the wire the keeper 14 isslipped over the tail of the dog, whereby its nose is disengaged fromthe pinion or gear, allowing the latter to turn freely in the reversedirection. (See dotted-line position of dog in Fig. 3.)

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is-=- 1. In awire-stretcher, the combination with a carriage, and a rack-bar, thecarriage having an opening in its lower portion to allow the rack topass through, the carriage being also provided with a strap forming afurther support for the rack-bar which is slidable in the carriage, thelatter being also provided with a hook to permit connection with astationary support, a cam-lever mounted on the carriage which isprovided with a ledge adjacent the face of the cam and cooperatingtherewith, to hold a wire, a shaft or spindle journaled in the carriageand provided with a hand-crank, a pinion fast on the spindle and meshingwith the cogs of the rack-bar, a spring-held dog mounted on the carriageand normally eh gaging the pinion to lock it against movement in onedirection, a suitable device movably mounted on the carriage andarranged to engage the dog and lock it against engagement with thepinion during the reverse movement of the carriage, and a locking-cammounted on one extremity of the rack-bar which is provided with acooperating shoulder or ledge adjacent said cam.

2. In a wire-stretcher, the combination of the carriage, the rack-bar,slidably connected with the carriage, a pinion mounted on one end of thecarriage which is cut out to make room therefor whereby the pinion isallowed to mesh with the cogs of the rack bar, means for rotating thepinion, a spring-held dog mounted on the carriage and engaging thepinion, the arrangement being such that the pinion is normally locked bythe dog against movement in one direction, a device for holding the dogout of engagement with the pinion, a locking-cam mounted on the carriagewhich is provided with a cooperating ledge overlapping the Working faceof the cam, a cam mounted on the rack which is pro vided with acooperating ledge, and suitable means for connecting one member of thede vice with asuitable stationary support, while the other member isconnected with the wire to be stretched by virtue of its locking-cam.

3. In a wire-stretcher, the combination of two cooperating members onearranged to be connected with a stationary support, and the otherarranged to be connected with the wire to be stretched, one member beinga carriage and the other a rack-bar, the two members being connected inoperative relation where by one is allowed to move upon the other, thecarriage member consisting of an integral casting through which therack-bar member passes, the carriage member being cut out or recessed atone end, a pinion located in the recess of the carriage, a shaft orspindle journaled in the carriage and upon which the pinion is madefast, means for turning the shaft to rotate the pinion, a spring-helddog pivotally mounted on the carriage and ar-' ranged to engage thepinion whereby the latter is locked against movement in one direction,means mounted on the carriage for holding the dog against the tension ofthe spring, out of engagement with the pinion, to per mit the reversemovement of the latter, means for connecting one member with a suitablestationary support, and means mounted on the other member for holdingthe wire to be stretched, and means mounted on the member connected withthe stationary support, for holding the wire during the reverse movementof the member connected with the wire during the stretching operation.

4:. In a wire-stretcher, the combination of a carriage and a rack-bar,the carriage consisting of an integral casting having an open-' ing inits lower portion through which the rack-bar passes, a hook at oneextremity of the carriage, the opposite extremity being re- 'cessed orcut out, a shaft or spindle journaled in the recessed portion of thecarriage, hand-cranks attached to the shaft for 0perating the latter, agear or pinion fast on the shaft and occupying the recess in thecarriage extremity, and arranged to engage the rack-bar, a locking-campivotally mounted on the lower part of the carriage intermediate thehook and pinion, a spring-held dog mou nted on the carriage and normallyengaging the pinion and locking the latter against movement in onedirection, a keeper mounted on the carriage and arranged to engage thedog and hold it out of engagement with the pin- Witnesses:

DORA O. SHIoK, OHAs. E. Moms.

